space

The fires that are ravaging Spain, seen from the space and through the maps

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Although the heat wave that we have been supporting for days begins to send and, According to data from the State Meteorology Agency (AEMET)the maximum temperatures will descend in a generalized way this week, the forest fires They are still out of control. So far this year, More than 344,400 hectares have already burned throughout Spain. A figure that makes 2025 one of the worst seasons of forest fires that Europe has lived in the last two decades. 13 tricks to get the most out of Google Maps With this panorama, it is normal to ask how the situation evolves. The reality is that the foci constantly change. However, there are technological tools open and accessible both for the general public and for the authorities. Two of the most useful are the alert system for Google Maps crisis and the emergency viewfinder of the Copernicus Program of the European Union. Both resources are available for free and you can consult them right now. Google Maps is one of those applications that we use daily, but we don’t always know all its functions. To see the active forest fires You have to enter the mobile app or maps.google.com and play on the layer icon, in the upper right corner. In the section Map type You don’t have to change anything. The focus is in Map detailswhere we must select the Forest Fire option. The system will show the affected areas with relevant information, such as the level of gravity and the date of the last update. If we play in any of the marked areas (for example, Ourense, one of the most complicated when publishing this article), we will access a file with the estimated perimeterlinks to official sources and related articles. Google Maps is not limited to showing points on the map: behind there is a system that combines Ia with satellite images. To detect and delimit forest fires, use a model of Deep Learning Trained with satellite data such as GOES-16, GOES-18, Himawari-9 or European meteosat, among others. It also relies on sensors such as Modis (of Aqua and Terra satellites) and VIIRS (aboard S-NPP and JPSS-1). All that information is processed through Superresolution techniques To identify active spotlights and update maps with precision. In the case of the Copernicus system, you have to access the page Current Sition ViewerAvailable on the web forest-fire.emerncy.copernicus.eu/applications. The viewfinder is quite intuitive. In the left lateral menu you have to locate the Rapid Damage Assessment section and focus on the Active Fire layer. There are two selectable data sources: Modiswhich collects information through satellite sensors Terra and Aqua. VIIRSwhich uses similar algorithms to detect active spotlights aboard the satellite Suomi NPP (National Polar-Footing Partnership). Both layers allow to visualize in real time the fires detected from space, and are a valuable tool to closely follow the situation both in Spain and in the rest of Europe. Images | Copernicus (Emergency Management Service) | Google Maps In Xataka | If the question is how to shield the mountain to fires, in Soria they have an ancestral solution: luck of pines

launch satellites to space without rocket

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Adak is a small island at the western end of Alaska. With a military past for its proximity to Russia, today it has less than 400 inhabitants. In this almost pospocalyptic scenario, A Californian startup called spinlaunch Plan to build a giant centrifugator for catapult satellites to space. The perfect place for a space catapult. Although the argument of a science fiction film seems like the company, the company has signed an alliance With The Aleut Corporation, owner of much of Adak Island, to build its orbital launch platform there. The choice of the island is not accidental. Its northern latitude and its location in the Pacific allow polar and high inclination launch trajectories without the need to fly over populated areas. Air and sea traffic are also minimal. Adak was an important air base of the United States until 1997, so it has an operating airport and a deep water port, which would greatly facilitate the logistics of building and operating the installation. In addition, the island has enormous wind, hydraulic and geothermal potential that would allow feeding the electric centrifuger with renewable sources. How the spinlaunch centrifuger works. The Californian startup He did a concept of concept in 2022. The system is essentially a kinetic accelerator sealed in vacuum. Inside, a carbon fiber arm rotates the projectile that the satellite contains at hypersonic speeds, reaching 7,500 km/h. At the precise moment, the projectile is released and triggered to heaven by a fireplace. Once it reaches an altitude of 60 km, where the atmosphere is very dim, a small engine turns on to give the final thrust that allows the orbital speed to reach. In one of its most spectacular tests, They placed a camera aboard To see it in the first person. The greatest technical challenge is the brutal acceleration that subjects the payload to forces of up to 10,000 g. Spinlaunch has collaborated with NASA to demonstrate that satellites specially designed for centrifuging can survive the extreme trip. But although Keep working In perfecting the system, it has had to diversify its business so as not to fail. Launches in rockets to finance the tyrachinas. After years of silence, Spinlaunch reappeared in April 2025 with a plan that left many of his perplexed followers: displaying his own constellation telecommunications satellites. The most surprising: the 280 satellites of the Meridian project would be put in orbit using traditional rockets. Although many thought it was a tacit form of leave the catapultthe project on Adak island shows that the intention is to move on. In the words of David Wrenn, CEO of Spinlaunch: “The launch market is relatively small compared to the economic potential of satellite communications, more focused on costs than benefits.” So, if Meridian is successful, the centrigurator in the most remote town in the United States could end up seeing the light in the most post -epocalyptic environment imaginable. Image | Paxson WoelberSpinlaunch In Xataka | What to use rockets when you can use kinetic energy: this is the spectacular Spinlaunch space release system

China has shielded its space station against embargoes and sanctions. The key is how it has built it

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When Yang Liwei became The first Chinese astronaut in 2003The United States and Russia – bypassing the advances of the former Soviet Union – already accumulated decades of experience and more than fifty manned missions. In just over twenty years, that gap has been reduced by leaps and bounds. Of a modest debut, China has become humans to space, Mars And finally, To raise your own space station. A project that points to self -sufficiency with its own technology In Beijing they do not hesitate to show off technological independence. Yang Hong, chief engineer of the space station system, summed it up in June this year: “The central technologies of the Chinese Space Station have intellectual property totally independentand all its components are of national manufacture. ” The statement is ambitious: an orbital laboratory raised without resorting to foreign licenses, with all its critical systems designed and produced in China. To understand how China has come to raise its own space station, it is convenient to go back to 2011. That year, the US Congress approved the call Wolf amendment, a provision that prevents NASA and some federal offices use funds to cooperate bilaterally with Chinese entities in spatial matters, except express authorization from Congress and Certification of the FBI. This includes the exchange of technology, data or training, and in practice has blocked any Chinese access route to the International Space Station through NASA. The measure was officially justified for security reasons and concerns about sensitive technology transfer. Analysts like Makena Youngfrom the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), argue that the exclusion imposed by the Wolf amendment “has encouraged China to Accelerate your space programscreating a serious competitor for American leadership in this key scanner of exploration ” Everything indicates that this led Beijing to reinforce its long-term plans and redefine its strategy: move towards a manned program with greater independence, with Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2 as test laboratories before the current station. Now, is there inheritance of previous designs? Yes, and it is not a secret. But one thing is the historical lineage and another, the current dependence. The key is in critical blocks, presumably energy, attitude control, life support, navigationcommunications, computation and software. If those links are under national control, the self -sufficiency narrative gains strength, which means that there are no weak points that a rival country can take advantage of. In operations, there have been no public signs of external dependence: crew rotations and the resupplies have been fulfilled. But there enters the nuance: outside the official story, there are no independent verifications, so it is convenient to avoid absolute, despite the solid signals of autonomy. If we see this from a broader perspective we can discover that the US vetoes They have promoted the development of more advanced national chipsimprovements in manufacturing nodes, An impulse in electric mobility. External barriers have not stopped Beijing: they have been, rather, A strategic catalyst. Images | CMS In Xataka | The state of the ISS is so alarming that the United States and Russia have sat at the table for the first time in eight years In Xataka | It was not an extraterrestrial ship, but not a giant kite. We were totally wrong about 3i/Atlas

Jeff Bezos’s space company has advanced Spacex in a key milestone to go to the moon and Mars: zero evaporation

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One of the biggest obstacles to a mission to Mars is not the distance or travel time. It is the fuel. To send a manned ship, NASA estimates that dozens of Cryogenic propellant tons stored for weeks or months. But those liquids do not behave like on earth: in a vacuum, exposed to heat and without gravity, They are slowly evaporating even if the tank is perfectly sealed. That phenomenon, known as Boil-offforces to release the generated gas so that the pressure does not rise dangerously inside the tank. It is a constant loss that, in a long -term mission, can mean tons of tons of fuel lying to space. Therefore, developing tanks capable of preserving this propellant at safe pressure and without losses, which is known as zero evaporation technology, has become a technical requirement to go beyond the low orbit. Zero evaporation: the technical challenge that separates the orbit low from the rest of the solar system Blue Origin claims to have taken an important step To solve that problem. Jeff Bezos’ company has managed to maintain liquid oxygen and hydrogen in stable conditions, without evaporation, using Hardware flight prototype In earth tests (Blue Origin has not detailed whether it is vacuum thermal cameras or conventional banks). Dave clean announced itits CEO, as part of the lunar permanence program, stating that they already meet all the objectives set by NASA in this area. Click to see the publication in x The result is not less: we talk about conserving hydrogen at 20 Kelvin and oxygen to 90 Kelvin, two extreme temperatures, during sustained periods. This makes Blue Origin – which we know – the first private company that publicly and explicitly communicates a zero evaporation condition in cryogenic propelants. In the absence of this technology to vuele and demonstrate in orbit, what is achieved represents the most tangible advance so far towards tanks capable of storing liquid fuel without losses, a key piece to operate ships on the moon or Mars. Storing loss without space is not just a matter of good materials. It is a constant battle against physics. Even the best thermal insulation ends up giving in. Therefore, the path to zero evaporation goes through active solutions that cool the deposit from within. NASA has investigated two: The sub -housing jet and microgotes injectiontwo methods that allow to reduce the steam temperature and prevent internal pressure. Blue Origin has not detailed which of the two uses, but the logic points to the sub -deputy jet, The only tested method So far in microgravity by NASA. It consists of directing a very cold liquid jet where the steam is accumulated. When condensing it, it is avoided that the pressure rises and it is not necessary to release gas. It is a technologically complex system, but so far it has demonstrated greater efficacy and stability in test conditions. Long before Blue Origin announced its advance, NASA had already tested these systems In space. The ZBOT program, deployed aboard the International Space Station, allowed us to observe how a microgravity propellant tank behaves. One of its main discoveries was that the Interaction between the sub -housing jet and steam It does not follow the classic rules we know on earth. The Blue Origin cryogenic system during the ground tests of its zero evaporation technology In ZBOT-1, not only was it possible to control internal pressure with active mixture. Unexpected phenomena were also detected as cavitation, sudden formation of bubbles or flow alterations that could affect the stability of the system. That information – obtained with sensors, cameras and laser measurement systems – has served several companies, including Blue Origin, to design tanks capable of functioning stable in extreme environments. Spacex has not yet announced a zero evaporation solution as such. But that It does not mean that I am not working on it. In collaboration with NASA, The company has developed A cryogenic architecture oriented to reduced evaporation, which has already been validated in flight. In March 2025Starship made a Internal transfer of liquid oxygen in spacedemonstrating that he could move fuel and control his pressure without losing it excessively. NASA Artistic Recreation Although Spacex and Blue Origin are addressing the same general challenge – almaceinar propelants in space without losses – do not work with the same fuels or face the same level of thermal difficulty. Spacex uses liquid methane and liquid oxygen, while Blue Origin works with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. That difference is key. Liquid hydrogen must be maintained to one much lower temperature than that of methane or even that of oxygen. In addition, hydrogen is less dense, more prone to escape and much more difficult to isolate. Achieving zero evaporation conditions with hydrogen is therefore a major technical challenge. The advance announced by Blue Origin is not only significant by the result, but by the type of fuel with which it has achieved it. When talking about going to Mars, you often think of rockets, habitats or space costumes. But one of the most serious bottleneck is in something much more basic: conserve fuel. In a long -lasting mission, the propellant is not used at once. You have to store it, transfer it and, many times, keep it operational for weeks without being lost by evaporation. That makes zero evaporation technology a key piece for both future interplanetary missions and missions Artemis To the moon. Images | Blue Origin (1, 2) | POT | Xataka with Grok In Xataka | Spain is very excited about the three eclipses that will arrive between 2026 and 2028. The government is worried

The plan to manufacture the purest semiconductors in the world is to go to space

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While the United States and China tense their relationships with Taiwan chips factories in the center of the dispute, a Welsh Startup has been getting allies To manufacture semiconductors in orbit. The objective: to achieve an impossible quality to replicate on Earth. Context. The geopolitics of semiconductors is possibly one of the largest headaches for world powers. Europe imports 80% of the chips you need, and 90% of the most advanced It comes from Taiwan. An climb of tension in the region could have catastrophic consequences. Therefore, the search for a resilient supply chain is a strategic priority. The solution, paradoxically, may not be on earth. This is where it enters Space Forgean Aerospace Company based in Cardiff that is developing reusable satellites to manufacture semiconductors and other advanced materials in orbit. Manufacture chips in space. Why go so far for something so small? The answer is in physics. Vacuum and microgravity They are ideal conditions for the development of ultrapurus crystalsthe base of any semiconductor. On earth, gravity introduces tiny imperfections and defects in the crystalline structure of the materials during their formation. NASA He has been studying for decades The advantages of manufacturing in space. Gravity causes phenomena such as convection and sedimentation of molten materials, which prevents a homogeneous distribution of components and generates defects. In space, these problems disappear. Materials are formed more perfectly, which translates into higher quality chips, more efficient and lower energy consumption. The first satellite. Space Force believes that glass “seeds” can occur in space 10 times pure That anyone found on Earth, which would result in semiconductors with a hundredth of the defects. Less defects implies less waste, greater performance and, ultimately, more powerful and efficient devices. But how much of promise and what about reality? The company has already put its first manufacturing satellite, the Forgestar-1. Successfully released in June 2025 On board a spacex rocket, this satellite, developed entirely in Wales, is the first British spacecraft sent to space with the purpose of producing new materials. It is a first demonstration mission: it will prove that the appropriate environment for space can be created and some production techniques will validate. NATO is knocking on the door. Space Forge got 30 million dollars In its first financing round, the largest series for a space technology in the United Kingdom. The most significant is Who leads The investment: NIF, the NATO Innovation Fund. The NIF highlighted “the independence of the long -term supply and resilience” chain as one of the reasons to invest in the startup. This capital injection will accelerate the development of the Forgestar-2, the next generation of its returnable manufacturing satellite. Microgravity as a service. The potential of microgravity manufacturing goes beyond semiconductors. Metal alloys can be impossible to mix on the earth or new compound materials. The pharmaceutical industry could also benefit greatly, with improvements in the useful life of medicines and administration methods. Space Forge aspires to a business model of “microgravadad-asservice“, an idea that somehow remembers the Arm licenses model. Instead of selling chips, it will rent spaces in its” orbital factories “so that others produce their own materials. In Xataka | Manufacturing materials for space is fine. Manufacturing materials in space is much better because everything changes

We have been sending our location to space for 75 years without realizing it. It is now detectable in more than 120,000 stars

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Deliberate attempts for Contact extraterrestrial civilizations, Like the famous Arecibo messagethey have not received an answer. But what takes the dream of a group of cosmologists are not our well -intentioned messages, but those who send without realizing all the airports in the world. An incredibly powerful beacon. We have been shouting at the cosmos for decades without even pretending, betraying our existence in more than 120,000 nearby star systems. A new investigation presented in the Royal Astronomical Society It reveals that the combined electromagnetic leakage of all our airports form a very powerful beacon. According to the study, the signal is so intense that a civilization with technology similar to ours could detect it at a distance of up to 200 light years. Civil and military aviation radars. Researchers at the University of Mercanster simulated how radar signals that are used to control air traffic spread in space. The conclusion is amazing: the combined power of civil aviation radars adds 2 × 10¹⁵ watts, a sufficient figure for a radio telescope to capture hundreds of light years. But the thing doesn’t end there. Military radars, although they have a accumulated power of less than 1 × 10¹⁴ watts, create a pattern that sweeps the sky like a lighthouse. This signal will seem clearly artificial for anyone who observes from interstellar distances. In fact, it can be up to 100 times more powerful than the background signals, depending on the location of the observer. Our accidental technofirma since 1950. While the detection potential is 200 light years, these radar systems only emit with a similar intensity Since the 1950swhich means that our unintentious signal has expanded for now about 75 light years in all directions. Our technofirma has already reached nearby star systems as next centauri (4 light years), the star of Barnard (6 light years) and au microscopii (32 light years), but we still have to wait another 125 years to spread to the maximum and be detected in a radius of 200 light years. There are two ways to take this. On the one hand, we are sending the entire neighborhood an unequivocal sign that there is intelligent life on Earth. Figures such as astronomer David Brin have been Very critical of the idea of “shouting to the cosmos” without first establishing a global consensus. It is an arrogant decision, he argues, because he could end up affecting all humanity. On the other hand, the study gives us an important clue to The search for extraterrestrial life: If there are other civilizations such as ours, perhaps the easiest signs to locate are not their messages, but the radars of their airports. Image | Masterphoto-Dk (CC by 2.0) In Xataka | What is Fermi’s paradox and why the atomic bomb architect took a turn to the extraterrestrial life search

PLD Space has a detailed plan to become the European rocket factory. And the pieces have started fitting

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With Miura 1, PLD Space became the first private company in Europe to successfully launch a suborbital rocket. Since then, the Spanish company has stepped on the accelerator with a project in mind: launching Miura 5 in 2026. Today the first orbital rocket in Spain is not a project, but a tangible reality that is being assembled in Elche. PLD Space It has already manufactured All its components and prepares to start your engines for the first time. The Treprel-C roars in Teruel. A rocket is, in essence, an engine with a large fuel tank. Miura 5 will have five Treprel-C engines fed by turbobomba in its first stage, generating a combined thrust of 950 kN, 30 times more than Miura 1. The development of the most important component of the rocket advances to counterreloj. The company already tested in its test banks of Teruel’s airport combustion cameras, validating manufacturing technologies such as copper and nickel electrode. The turbobombs, the largest developed by a European startup, They were also tested with a complete ignition before its final integration into the engine. Elements such as gas generators and cryogenic valves were designed, manufactured and tested internally following the lessons learned during the development of MIURA 1. A process that has culminated with the start of the engine series manufacturing: there are already four engines of the Teprel-C family in production for the final qualification campaign. Aluminum plates have gained shape. Parallel to the development of engines, the construction of the rocket structure itself advances at a good pace. In a recent videoThe company details how its Elche factory has been working on the molding and the test of the metal structures (the fuel tanks) and of composite materials (the separation module between stages and the cofia that will protect the satellites of the customers). These components have already undergone all kinds: tests at room temperature, cryogenic, and with compression and flexion loads to ensure that the structure will support the brutal conditions of the launch. The idea is to refine the design with the results of the prototypes to maximize their performance. After validating the engineering models, PLD Space is now manufacturing the final qualification components, the step prior to the series production of Miura 5. The launch ramp is running. The company signed a development contract With the French Space Agency (CNES) to build its own launch complex in the European Space Port of Kouroou, in the French Guiana. The civil works will begin this summer in the same place where France launched its first rocket, the Elm-Diamant. The location is unbeatable: its proximity to Ecuador will allow optimizing the trajectories of Miura 5 and launching heavier loads with less fuel. But PLD Space does not conform and has also signed an agreement with Oman to build a Second launch base In the Etlaq Space Puerto. This movement will give direct access to the Mercado de Oriente. A plan to be the European rocket factory. At the same time that Miura 5 develops, PLD Space is raising an industrial complex to manufacture it in series. The company has designed a plan to climb its production to 32 units per year by 2030. This industrial effort is based on a supply chain of almost 400 partners, mostly Spanish and Europeans, which has invested 50 million euros Since the beginning of 2024. PLD Space has chained a series of crucial milestones that draw a very clear and ambitious roadmap, as European confidence demonstrates. Back of the European Space Agency. PLD Space is already officially one of the five companies preselected by ESA to guarantee sovereign access to space in Europe. The European Launcher Challenge has awarded contracts of up to 169 million euros to the five companies, among which are the French Maiaspace, the British Orbex and the Germans Isar Aerospace and Rocket Factory Augsburg. PLD Space has proposed to Miura 5 as its immediate operating pitcher already His future heavy and reusable rocket, the Miura Nextlike the next step. The ESA final decision will be taken in November 2025, but the pre -selection already positions the Spanish company as a key actor and an industrial leader in the European launch sector. Image | PLD Space In Xataka | 12 years after making fun of Spacex and his idea of landing rockets, Arianegroup is creating a European mini-falcon 9

In Madrid there were no economic hotels left, but there was a “virgin” space for tourists: polygons

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Like most of the large cities on the planet, prices for stay in Madrideither for a long time like a short stay, they have shot themselves. If we focus on tourist accommodations, already We tell it Recently: it’s not a sensation, hotels are more expensive than ever In Spain, and in cities such as the capital They are prohibitive. In fact, tourists are beginning to look for other destinations Like Morocco. The solution for hoteliers is in the surroundings: the polygons. The new face. Three years ago it was already coming. Then, he counted in a Report the ABC That on the outskirts of the M-30, where many still believe that Madrid is blurred in gray ships and empty streets at the afternoon, the polygon Julián Camarillo It offered a radically different image. This almost 200 hectares enclave, located between the linear city and Suanzes stations, had begun to transform into a vibrant, accelerated and multifaceted area, a reflection of a city in constant mutation. Its streets combine industrial vestiges from the 50s to 80s with new constructions, hotels, artisan breweries, gastronomic spaces, technological centers and an incipient cultural vocation. As happened before in Barrios Like Shoreditch in London or the District 22@ from Barcelonathe polygon seemed to position itself as an urban laboratory where the post -industrial laboratory gives way to the allegedly modern. Tourist destination Three years later, The country counted That in Julián Camarillo, which once was territory marked by half -empty offices, aged industrial buildings and unused solar, a phenomenon as unexpected as unstoppable is brewing: its transformation into an incipient hotel district. Yes, what at first glance seemed a little hospitable environment has become A tourist reef Thanks to its proximity to the center of Madrid and at the low cost of accommodation. Here is a proper name: the Catalan businessman Óscar Sánchez, founder of the Bestprice chainhas been one of the pioneers to bet on the enclave, describing it as an “oil well” for the potential it offers to those who risk. Its hotels, located only eight subway stops from Puerta del Sol, attract young visitors who prioritize the price aesthetics. The figures endorse it: since 2020 they have Opened eight hotels in the area and there are at least seven others in project. From illegal loft to functional hotels. Apparently, the previous attempts For redefining the area they did not prosper with equal success. At the beginning of the century, the New York Soho model with the loft fashion was attempted, and then promoted the term Madbit to attract to Technology companies. Both initiatives collided with the lack of regulation and a weak corporate demand. Instead, hotels have grown without institutional campaigns or brand names for the neighborhood. The specialized real estate agency in the area confirmed the country that many office promoters are transforming their projects into tourist establishments due to the evidence that the demand for accommodation exceeds that of work space. This boom coincides with something we have gone counting: he normative hardening Towards Airbnb and Tourist Housing The historical record of visitors in Madrid, where 10.4 million tourists were reached in 2024. The Carabanchel node Urban Fever. In the background, international consultants have confirmed the effervescence of the sector. Colliers has identified more than 60,000 square meters available for new hotel projects in Julián Camarillo, although warns that urban limits slow down the rhythm, so many of the New establishments They are small and functional, with less than one hundred rooms. Most are classified as a star hotels, and together they add more than 1,500 active rooms. Meanwhile, chains Like Ibis or Spark by Hilton They add to the model initiated by Bestprice, consolidating the area as the one that wakes up most between investors. Other consultants, Like Engel & VölkersThey observe a similar trend in industrial polygons from other cities such as Valencia, Bilbao or Barcelona, ​​where land prices and the lack of alternatives in the center push the hotel sector to colonize spaces traditionally relegated to the manufacturing activity. Asequible accommodation. The triumph of this model is Understand alone. The logic behind this transformation is because there are every time Less active factoriesoffices do not absorb enough demand and tourism needs affordable spacewell communicated and functional. With rates of between 60 and 70 euros per night, 20 minutes from the center of Madrid, hotels in polygons such as Julián Camarillo fill that hole. Carabanchel adds. Something similar is also happening to the south of the capital, although here with the aim of giving a housing alternative to creative young people at a step in the city. It The world told. In the heart of Carabanchel, a neighborhood more and more associated with urban artHE Inaugurated Node Carabanchela half stay hotel that redefines the concept of flexible accommodation with a thousand rooms designed for creative young people, students, digital nomads “and people in vital transition.” With one investment of 100 million In euros, the gigantic complex includes fully equipped studies and apartments, and offers a community experience focused on art, music and coworking, with spaces such as rehearsal rooms, podcast, theater, gym, swimming pool, sporting tracks and a scourge on the roof for concerts and cultural events. Replicating other models. Node aspires not only to accommodate, but to actively integrate into the local fabric through collaborations With schools, galleries and neighborhood artists, promoting a living and shared community. Driven by the Node Living company With the support of Bain Capital, this is its third project in Madrid and is part of an international expansion that replicates a model born in Brooklyn and already present in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, London and Barcelona. Mutant neighborhoods. Be that as it may, all these proposals have a common denominator: Madrid is made big And it reinvents itself because its nerve center has become A theme park of Closed Coto. Of course, the spontaneity with which they have Grown polygons like Julián Camarillo To tourist district modes, they … Read more

We are sending cannabis samples to space. They will be key to knowing if we can colonize the moon or Mars

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Throughout our short space race we have sent the most diverse things to space: from golf balls up to 2,000 small jellyfish (that returned being 60,000), going through latea piece of the Wright brothers, an electric car, a gorilla costume and a pizza. Today to this peculiar list we have to add about 150 cannabis seeds. The reasons? Strictly scientific. Mayasat-1. That is the name they receive both the mission (Integrated within Mission Possible 2025) as the incubator on board which have traveled seeds, algae and human DNA, among other things. In total, 980 samples of 11 different customers. The incubator has been developed by the Genoplant Research Institute in Slovenia, but who has decided to send cannabis seeds to space has been Martian Grow. Transport-14 | Image: Genoplant Mayasat-1 | Image: Genoplant Three laps. Before addressing the why of cannabis, it is convenient to understand what the mission has consisted, whose duration has been three hours. Mayasat-1 took off on Monday 23 at 23:50 aboard a Falcon 9 from Spacex from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It reached a height of 520 kilometers (120 kilometers more than the International Space Station) and completed three laps around our planet. Specifically, through polar areas. Because? Because at the North and South poles exposure to radiation is very, much higher than that of Ecuador due to the magnetic field. The objectives. There are several, but they can be summarized as follows: Observe the survival of samples to radiation, microgravity and temperatures of space to have an idea of ​​its ability to resist extreme conditions. Investigate possible adaptations, such as genetic or structural changes, which may have occurred in response to the environmental stress factors. Study the possible implications for the cultivation of plants in space or advances in medicine. Serve as proof of concept for the realization of biological experiments in space. And now yes, cannabis. Božidar Radišič leads the initiative Martian Grow and works as a consultant at the Research Nature Institute in Slovenia. In statements collected by WiredRadišič believes that “sooner or later, we will have lunar bases and cannabis, with its versatility, it is the ideal plant to supply those projects.” In his own words, cannabis “can be a source of food, proteins, construction materials, textiles, hemp, plastic and medicines. I don’t think many other plants give us all these things.” But cannabis … Yes, it is associated with a very different recreational use, but its potential as a plant is tremendous. The Cannabis sativa l produces THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive compound) and CBD (Cannabidiol, has no psychoactive effects), but these are only two of the More than 550 chemical compounds found to date. And although we do not know what effects each and every one of them has, we do know that the plant is surprisingly resistant. Image | Crystalweed Cannabis Hold on what you throw. Cannabis sativa is a plant that resists ultraviolet rays and gamma radiation (in fact, it is used in its industrial production to decontaminate it). It is also extremely versatile, being able to grow both in Mexico and India, Nepal, Netherlands or Afghanistan despite the fact that its origin is in the Himalayas. Nor is it a plant that needs too much water and can be grown in different types of soils. Their ballots to be a successful space crop are, therefore, abundant on paper. And why send seeds to space? We know that radiation and genetic mutation is able to generate new varieties of species with different properties. “So far more than 3,400 new varieties of more than 210 species of plants using genetic variation induced by radiation and improvement by mutations, “they explain from the International Atomic Energy Agency. For Radišič, that is precisely the key: “It’s about finding out if cosmic conditions affect cannabis genetics, and how they do it, and we may only discover it after several generations.” Radiation exposure can cause mutations, not all negative, not all positive. The key is to detect those that can play in favor of humanity. The problem, of course, is that we need more information. Image | Genoplant Further. We have already cultivated lettuce at the International Space Station, Thalian Arabidopsis on lunar soil and Sent seeds to spacebut all radiation exposure has been in low orbit (up to 2,000 kilometers high). The responses to the radiation of a plant at the International Space Station may not be the same as those of a plant on the moon (at 38,400 kilometers away) or on Mars (54.6 million kilometers). One of the projects that seek to explore how plants cultivated on the moon respond is Leafa NASA mission that will travel to our satellite in the mission Artemis III In 2027. Next steps. When the capsule returns, the Božidar Radišič team and the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Ljubljana will study the seeds, their possible mutations and adaptations to obtain results and see which compounds have altered and how. “Whether there are changes as if not, both results will be important for the future, so that we know how to grow cannabis in the space environment,” says Radišič to Wired. An important job. Colonizing the moon or Mars is not only a technological challenge, but also logistics. It is not viable to transport food to keep the population of another planet, so it is capital to learn to cultivate in lunar and Martian soils, completely inhospitable and hostile. There have been advances and research with different proposals For many yearsbut there is still no solution that seems perfect. Images | Genoplant In Xataka | We have found a plant capable of producing 40 cannabinoids. A closer plant evolutionarily to lettuce that to hemp

Energy and space. China has solved them by sinking them into the sea

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China has opened in Shanghai The first commercial submarine database fed entirely by marine wind energy. It is an important evolutionary leap after two years of experience with its pilot installation in Hainan. Why is it important. The digital infrastructure is facing Two crisis worldwide: The excessive energy consumption of data centers. The shortage of urban land to expand them. This underwater installation solves both problems of a stroke, because it reduces energy expenditure to 40% while releasing space on the mainland. The context. China already tested the commercial viability of Submarine centers in Hainan Since December 2022, where an installation operates 30 meters deep without registering a single server breakdown in these two and a half years. Microsoft experienced with PROJECT NATICK In Scotland in 2015, but it was Hainan who marked the first real commercial deployment of the world. Shanghai now represents the “version 2.0” of this technology. In figures: Investment reaches 1.6 billion yuan (222.7 million dollars) to create an underwater cluster of 24 megawatts. The natural water cooling system reduces cooling consumption of 40-50% to less than 10% of total consumption. More than 90% of energy will come from marine wind farms. What has happened. Yesterday, Tuesday, June 10, The tripartite agreement was signed Among the authorities of Shanghai and the company Hicloud Technology. The first phase, 2.3 MW, will begin operating in September as a national model project. The second phase will scale up to 24 MW with an energy efficiency (PU) of less than 1.15. And now what. The installation anchors an industrial ecosystem that will support AI, 5G, Internet of industrial things and electronic commerce platforms outside China. The country thus consolidates its leadership in submarine digital infrastructure while other countries remain focused on expanding land centers to use. Outstanding image | Hicloud In Xataka | Saudi Arabia wants to become a new power in data centers. Nothing is clear that I can do it

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